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Changemaker of the Month: Mary Olanrewaju

This October, we’re proud to celebrate Mary Olanrewaju—an extraordinary SEND educationist, counsellor, life coach, and community trainer—whose work is transforming lives across the UK and Nigeria.

Mary is the founder of Equal Education Chances (EEC), a charity committed to inclusive education and social change. Her journey began with a deep passion for justice and a belief that no child should be left behind due to disability, poverty, or circumstance. Through EEC, she’s built bridges between communities, schools, and faith spaces—empowering families through education, creativity, and wellbeing.

Her flagship initiative, the Faith and Neurodivergency (FAN) project, is a powerful example of inclusive innovation. FAN creates compassionate spaces where faith and neurodiversity meet, helping worship communities become more accessible and understanding of neurodivergent experiences.

Mary’s impact extends beyond the classroom. As an author, her book The Bridge: Inclusive Educational Resources equips teachers and parents with practical tools to support SEND learners. Her ambitious goal? To distribute 50,000 copies across Nigerian schools—raising awareness and building capacity for inclusive education on a national scale.

Flourish Connections

Mary first connected with Flourish Together CIC and our vibrant network of women changemakers when she joined our ELLI programme post Covid, which was a programme supporting ‘Women’s Support Organisations’ to help build their capacity, leadership skills, and enterprise thinking. Mary has also benefitted from our Time to Grow programme, participated in mentoring, networking, and development workshops that helped refine her leadership and expand EEC’s reach across Greater Manchester, plus accessed Flourish seed funding opportunities. We’re honoured to support her journey and celebrate her unwavering commitment to progress, purpose, and impact.

Mary has also been a key attendee at our Multicultural Christmas showcasing and celebration events and we look forward to welcoming EEC again this year at our event in Longsight on 16^th December.

What’s Next?

Mary and EEC are preparing for:

• A Winter Holiday Club for children from low-income families
• Community inclusion workshops exploring culture, disability, and belonging
• Continued promotion of The Bridge to educators worldwide

🖤 Black History Month Reflections

For Mary, Black History Month is a celebration of resilience, excellence, and unity. It’s a time to honour Black contributions to education and community—and to amplify stories that inspire hope.

🤝 Get Involved

Support Mary’s mission by volunteering, collaborating, donating educational resources, or simply spreading the word about inclusive education and wellbeing.

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Find out more at: http://equaleducationchances.org/

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This month Flourish is proud to celebrate Kirsty Galloway, founder of Yellow Beacon CIC, bringing mindfulness to underserved communities in Greater Manchester to aid mental health and wellbeing. 

Kirsty participated in our 2022 Time to Grow programme to help consolidate her business ideas and get started with her social enterprise. After participating in the end of programme Mentorathon, Kirsty was awarded seed funding from Flourish, which she used for professional development and training with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. With the help of Flourish’s one-to-one support, she was successful in securing start-up funding from UnLtd. 

Since 2022, Yellow Beacon CIC has continued to grow, supporting over 100 people through their bespoke trauma-informed mindfulness programmes, workshops, and one-to-one sessions. Their work supports a wide variety of people, including  those who have experienced trauma, adults in areas of socio-economic deprovation, autistic adults, and parents and carers of neurodivergent children. More recently, their work has evolved to offer wellbeing support to neurodivergent social entrepreneurs in collaboration with the Manchester Social Economy Alliance and Manchester Social Entrepreneurs. 

Kirsty started Yellow Beacon CIC after a decade working in the charity sector, where she noticed a gap in the market for trauma informed and accessible mindfulness provision in the mental health sector. This became more evident at the start of her own trauma recovery journey and her own experiences of adverse effects in meditation. Lived and professional experience are at the heart of Yellow Beacon CIC and Kirsty and her team are excited to see what comes next!

Find out more at: https://yellowbeacon.org

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This month, Flourish Together is proud to celebrate Sanam Iqbal, founder of The Art of Joy Project and in-house therapist at Flourish CIC, whose work continues to inspire and uplift communities across Greater Manchester.

Sanam’s story highlights the transformative power of creativity, compassion, and courage, and the role organisations like Flourish play in enabling that change. To date, Flourish has supported over 600 women changemakers and helped develop more than 3,000 social ventures, offering mentoring, investment, and peer learning opportunities. Her journey is a powerful illustration to what becomes possible when women are given the tools and support to lead with purpose.

Sanam first connected with Flourish in 2020 with an idea and a passion to make a difference. Through our Time to Grow programme, she gained the tools, confidence, and community she needed to bring The Art of Joy Project to life. From podcasting workshops to networking support, Flourish helped her navigate the social impact sector and build a sustainable organisation rooted in healing and joy. As Sanam shared, “They really opened my eyes to the way the sector works… it has really helped me learn the things I need to help me grow my organisation”.

Since then, Sanam has supported women, and now men, through trauma-informed sessions, one-to-one support, and domestic abuse programmes. Her work is deeply personal, shaped by her own lived experiences and a fierce commitment to helping others find safety, strength, and self-worth. She’s even expanded her impact through a cake business that helps fund her initiatives, with customers including Flourish and Manchester City Council.

From stepping into public speaking to planning school sessions on healthy relationships, Sanam is constantly evolving, always with the goal of creating spaces where people feel seen and supported. Her presence at Flourish events, including a live chat for the council, has left a lasting impression, and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of her journey.

This September, Sanam is facilitating a powerful two-part workshop titled “Empowerment Within”, designed to help women explore their self-beliefs, internal narratives, and personal boundaries. Held at Flourish Hub in Heaton Chapel, Stockport, the sessions take place on 24th September and 1st October, from 10am to 12:30pm. The workshop offers a safe, inspiring space for open dialogue and creative expression, culminating in the creation of personal vision boards.

Sanam is also offering a “Youth Vision Board Workshop”, which will be held on 14th and 28th September, from 11am to 1:30pm, and invites young women aged 16-25 to explore their beliefs, aspirations, and goals in a supportive, hands-on environment.

Both workshops are free to attend, with refreshments and materials provided, and are funded by the UK Government, WEA (Adult Learning Within Reach), and GMCA (Greater Manchester Combined Authority).

📞 Contact Sanam at 07849 028906 for more info.
📸 Follow her work on Instagram: @theartofjoyproject / @Sanam_thetherapist

You can also follow her on Facebook at The Art of Joy Project

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